Title: Welcome to Storybrooke (where the booze is bitter but the people are worth it)
Rating: PG (mostly for drunken shenanigans)
Fandom: Once Upon A Time
Pairing/Characters: Aurora/Mulan, Snow, Emma, Red, Belle
Disclaimer: Sadly not mine in any way, shape or form.
Warnings: none (my warnings policy)
A/N: Written for everythingshiny for ouat_exchange, originally posted here. Thanks to my girl for the beta.

Welcome to Storybrooke (where the booze is bitter but the people are worth it) has also been posted on Archive of Our Own.

Summary: You are cordially invited to Grannies tonight for a Girls Night Out. Wear your best dress, your most comfortable shoes, and be prepared to officially welcome Mulan and Aurora to Storybrooke! Five perspectives on celebrating Mulan and Aurora's arrival in Storybrooke.








WELCOME TO STORYBROOKE (where the booze is bitter but the people are worth it)



0.
You are cordially invited to Grannies tonight for a Girls Night Out. Wear your best dress, your most comfortable shoes, and be prepared to officially welcome Mulan and Aurora to Storybrooke!
Yours,
Snow


1.
Snow had delivered Emma's invitation herself, along with a shy invitation to help them set up. She'd babbled on and on for a bit as well about how nice it was to have Mulan and Aurora back in their lives, after everything that had happened with the wraith and Cora and fighting zombies together.

"I want it to be nice, it should be nice. We can introduce them to the others properly, it'll be great!"

Emma had shrugged and agreed, "but you're not getting me into a dress for this."

Snow had looked tempted to pout, but Emma had held up her hands and been firm. "I'm not a doll for you to play dress up with," she'd insisted.

"No," Snow had agreed, suddenly all serious again. "No, you're a grown woman. You wear whatever you want."

They'd stared at each other while Emma floundered for something to say, but Snow had recovered quickest. "I think I might be the one that needs help, anyway. Practically everything in my closet with a skirt seems to be floral!"


2.
Red held a tiny glass up to her lips, winked at Aurora, and then threw her head back and swallowed. "Girls night out," she cried, throwing a hand in the air and then screwing her face up like she'd bit into a lemon.

"Don't worry, Aurora," Mulan said, crossing her arms and setting her jaw as she watched. "I won't let them catch us up in their trickery."

Aurora looked curiously from Mulan to Red, who had stilled and dropped her glass back on the table with a soft thump. A tiny frown wrinkled Aurora's forehead, "I don't understand..."

Emma, Snow and Belle looked up from their huddle around one of the cafe tables. Matching expressions of affront crossed Snow and Emma's face, and Belle straightened up with a huff alongside them. "I don't like your insinuation," she said, chin raised high

"Mulan, I don't think they-" Aurora started, reaching out to press her hand against Mulan's arm, fingers stroking soothingly.

"You cannot expect us to believe this is a benign plan," Mulan cut across her, pulling free of her grasp and stalking forward, finger sharp and accusatory as she spoke. "Nobody pulls such an unpleasant face during a supposedly pleasant activity."

She stepped back with a smile as they all blinked at her wordlessly, pleased at foiling their prank. But then their eyes narrowed once more, so she clenched her jaw and pulled Aurora behind the shield of her body.

"I do not appreciate tricks," she said, standing firm.

"Speak for yourself," Aurora's voice practically sparkled with amusement in Mulan's ear, but she didn't pull out of her grasp. Instead she laughed, lightly and to herself, as she grasped Mulan's hand and gave it a strong squeeze. "I've always been quite in favour of a good joke!"

Snow's eyes were assessing as they raked Mulan up and down, Emma and Belle beginning to grumble in ernest behind her. "Enough," she commanded, before they could gather much volume. "I can understand where Mulan's coming from."

"Where Mulan's coming from?" Emma yelped in stereo. Snow just shook her head at her daughter, eyes soft and amused.

"It was Red drinking  wasn't it?" Snow asked, striding over to the counter and picking up the next shot glass. Smothering a smile, she tossed back the drink. "You haven't tried drinking in Storybrooke yet... There's nothing wrong with it, it's just not spelled like it would be back home. It won't taste as sweet."

"It's not... laced?" Mulan enquired, after a long pause.

"Mulan!" Aurora pulled free and whacked her in the arm, hard.

"It's okay, Aurora," Snow laughed, glancing sidelong at Red with a conspiratory chuckle. Emma didn't look quite so forgiving in the background, especially in contrast to Belle's once again happy grin, but when Snow gestured them over she still came willingly. "Mulan is just used to looking out for you both."

"Well, I can take care of myself," Aurora said with a haughty sniff, and grabbed up a glass of her own despite Mulan's protests.


3.
Aurora trailed happily after the others as they left the cafe. Her mouth still tasted vaguely horrible, even after a slice of Grannie's sweetest pie to chase the foul liquid they'd been sharing. But her head was buzzing pleasantly, a familiar feeling from a particularly good ball that had been held in her honour once, and she wasn't inclined to complain.

"You should have drunk more," she enthused in Mulan's ear, settled comfortably into the crook of her arm. "It really isn't that bad, I feel wonderful."

"It tasted like horse piss," Mulan grated, but she still tightened her grip on Aurora's waist and pulled her close. Aurora turned her face into Mulan's neck for a moment, enjoying the feel of Mulan's soft skin against her face.

"Since when do you know what horse piss tastes like?" she mumbled, and then giggled when Mulan huffed.

They walked along that way for quite awhile. Aurora giggled again each time she saw Snow and Red stumble sideways into each other ahead of them, or heard Emma behind them begin talking loudly about how there was 'nowhere else good to go in Storybrooke, I don't understand where we're going.'

Aurora hadn't seen much of the town yet, it was true, but she thought there were plenty of good places to go. Everything was all slightly strange looking, but also very new and very exciting. She told Mulan all of this, at length and possibly more than once, but Mulan merely grunted and carefully guided Aurora down the street and around the occasional car.

It was nice. Much nicer than she'd expected to have after trailing all over the magical forest, just the two of them against a battered world.

That had been nice too, in a different way. But here she still had Mulan by her side, and they were safe and warm and with wonderful people and everything was wonderful.

She told Mulan that too, but Mulan just sighed and guided her carefully up and over a kerb.


4.
Red could feel her inebriation easing slightly as she triumphantly lead the others onto the beach. The breeze from the water was fresh across her face, bringing with it the smell of salt and faint hints of the town where it sprawled along the shoreline. Her wolf sat up and sniffed the air eagerly, pleased to be out of the concrete lined streets and somewhere a little more interesting.

There was a thump behind her, and when she looked back over her shoulder she found Snow sitting rump first in the wet sand, laughing helplessly.

"I fell," she declared, laughing so hard she was nearly crying. The others caught up as she sat there, stumbling to a stop around them as Snow giggled helplessly up at Red.

"Oh, Mom," Emma sighed under her breath after a minute, and then together they helped Snow to her feet.

Snow gasped as she regained her footing, her eyes going wide and trembly.

"Wait, what? What did I do?" Emma squeaked when Snow threw her arms around Emma's neck and pulled her close.

"You called me Mom," Snow sighed happily into Emma's shoulder, squeezing her so tight that Red began quietly waiting for her to turn purple.

"Oh," Emma said. "Oh, I guess I did."

Everyone seemed transfixed by the sweetness of the scene they made, and Red smiled along with them. Her wolf curled up with a pleased rumble, and she turned her face to the night sky, thinking of the happiness that pack could bring.


5.
Belle clambered across the playground to sit by Emma, who was swinging her feet idly. Snow and Red were alternating between chasing each other and falling over each other in the distance, only pausing occasionally to laugh until they had to gasp for breath and for Snow to look over at Emma and smile widely.

It made a matching grin spread across Belle's own face to see that sort of joy, and the way Emma ducked her head shyly but always raised a hand in return.

"I'm glad I came to Storybrooke," she offered, after a lengthy but comfortable silence. "Despite how it all started out."

"I know what you mean," Emma said, sounding faintly wistful.

She nodded agreeably when Emma didn't seem inclined to continue. Then she began to turn back to where she could hear Red laughing and yelling, but Emma stopped her, reaching out to snag Belle's wrist.

Belle looked back, but Emma wasn't looking at her. Following her line of sight, however, revealed Mulan and Aurora standing under a clutch of trees.

They were standing close together and talking, Aurora's face tipped up to the sky. It made Belle happy just as the sound of Snow and Red cavorting in the background did, pleased to be surrounded by so many happy friends.

As they watched, Mulan brought a hand up and tipped Aurora's face down, and leaned in for a kiss.

"I guess we all got to where we are the way we did for a reason," Emma said softly, and Belle just laughed. She jumping down as the sound of her own voice echoed through the night, not letting go of Emma's hand as she went. She tugged relentlessly, until they were close enough to join in with Snow and Red's game.

And as she went down under a pile of breathless, laughing bodies, Belle didn't regret a single moment that had brought her there.